Thursday, October 04, 2007

Just one day after the announcement ofthe capture of Muthanna, a senior al Qaeda facilitator of foreign fighters in the Sinjar region on the Syrian border, Multinational Forces Iraq announced the capture of a major financier in Baghdad. The yet to be named al Qaeda financier was captured by the Iraqi Army in the Baghdad neighborhood of Kindi.The al Qaeda operative used his leather business to fund attacks inside Iraq and smuggle weapons into Iraq. He "has stores in Fallujah, Syria and Jordan," and "is suspected of traveling to foreign countries to acquire financial support for terrorist activities," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "He is believed to have received $100,000,000 this summer from terrorist supporters who cross the Iraq border illegally or fly into Iraq from Italy, Syria and Egypt."

The financier funded al Qaeda cells in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad, and the cities of Tarmiyah and Baqubah. "He allegedly employs 40 to 50 extremists who help deliver and emplace improvised explosive devices to attack Iraqi and Coalition Forces," Multinational Forces Iraq stated. "The group allegedly pays cell members $3,000 for each operation," and supplies over $50,000 to al Qaeda operatives per month.

The financier is also linked to the 2006 destruction of the domes of the Al Askaria mosque in Samarra, and the follow up 2007 bombings of the minarets of the same mosque. He is the fourth senior al Qaeda operative linked to the Al Askaria mosque attacks to be killed or captured.(h/t The Long War Journal)